Retaining ring



March 4, 1947. w SCHAAFF r AL 2,416,852

I RETAINING RING Filed Dec. 17, 1942 (PR/0R 4/? 7') w Qwwwww Patented Mar. 4, 1947 mil, m liugcwunehlinnx,

wuau Kill-LX001, Ina.

momma, 1942, Nada .382

1 Gain. (GI. ear-s2) 1 1 This invention relates to improvements in re- 8 seac .f re am m e.asare in Reissue Patent No. 18,144, dated August 4, 1931, which are employed as fixtures on rotating shafts tosecure varioustypesofmachine lies.

such as bearings, gears, and the like, against axial displacements. Such retaining rings are spring rings which taper from a mid-section so as to have diminishing section height (radial thickness) towards their open ends, which is dependent upon the selected eccentricity between their outer and inner peripheries. Further, the open ends of such rings are conventionally formed as protruding legs having tool apertures to receive the points of pliers which expand the rings so that they can be applied over the shaft end and inserted in a corresponding groove of the shaft for rotation therewith.

Due to the non-symmetric shape of such a ring about its horizontal center line, i, e., the normal to the vertical center line passing between the open ends of the ring and extending through the mid-section thereof of maximum section height, centrifugal forces exerted on the rotating ring have a resultant acting along the vertical center line. This resultant depends upon both the number of shaft revolutions per minute and upon the ring diameter and can reach values suiliciently great as to disturb the balance of shafts rotatingat high speeds. I 4

It is an important object of the invention to avoid the above noted disadvantages of known re- 1 taining rings in providing a retaining ring of the character under consideration, which is substantially self-balanced. More specifically, the invention aims to provide a retaining ring which is so shaped that the algebraic sum of the resultants of the centrifugal forces exerted thereon in rotation and which act along the vertical center-line thereof equals zero whereby retaining rings in accordance with the invention may be applied to high speed shafts and the like without disturbing the balance thereof. It is a further object of the invention to provide a retaining ring which is so shaped that it is self-balanced and in which balancing is attained without sacrifice of its property of maintaining circularity and without exceeding the permissible clearance diameter thereofji. e., the minimum inner diameter of the housing or like enclosure in which the shaft for the ring is located.

Other objects will beinrpart obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out in connection with the following analysis of this invention wherein is illustrated an embodiment of the invention in detail.

In the drawings- Fig. l is a plan view of an unbalanced retainin ring of the prior art;

4 2 V a 1 samegmeralformanddiameterasshowninrlg, 1, but which is selfin accordance with the invention; and

Fig. 3- represents a diagram of the ring shown in Fig. 2 for calculation purposes.

Referring to Fig. 1, illustrating a known type of unbalanced ring of uniform axial thickness throughout, the same is defined by circular edges struck from centershaving eccentricity T in the direction of the vertical center line A-A thereof.

as shown, the outer circular edge I has the greater radius R and the inner circular edge 2 has the smaller radius ,r. The ring tapers or has diminishing section hei ht (radial thickness) from its mid-section toward the open ends thereof, which is so calculated that the inner edge 2 maintains its initial circularity under ring deformation. The open ends of the ring are formed as protruding legsl, l, which are each provided with a hole 5 adapted to receive the points of pliers by which the rings may be expanded in inserting the same into a shaft groove. Heretofore, the dimensioning of the legs 3, 4 was not considered as at all critical to the operation of the ring, so long as the section height thereof did not exceed the permissible clearance diameter.

In such a ring the maximum'section height or radial thickness H m)=Rr+T And the minimum section height H (mln)=R--TT. Therefore, the maximum diiference of section heights equals 2'11' It should be borne in mind that the calculated diminution of the section heights of the ring from Khan) to Hem) cannot be'changed lestthe ring lose its capacity of circular deformation whereby it may be expanded and then released to clamp against the circular base of a shaft roove- It will be observed that the Fig. 1 form of ring is non-symmetric about its horizontal center line B-B. Hence, the centrifugal forcesexerted thereon in rotation. generally have a resultant acting alongits verticalcenter line A-A which can reach values large enough to disturb the balance of a shaft rotating at high speeds, to which the ring is applied. For an understanding of the invention to be described, these forces and their resultants are briefly analyzed as follows:

If a ring as illustrated in Fig. 1 but devoid of the legs 3, 4 is rotated about its center point 0, the centrifugal forces exerted thereon in rotation have a resultant C acting in the vertical center line whose value is determined according to the equation Fig.2isaplanviewofaretainingringof the U0 angularvelocityoftherinsiSeQ l n Sthe I I 7 Q 180 180 result of thefollowing development, reference Q sing sing s2 being had to Fig. 3, in which AFy is an element of the ring between the angles p and do. AF: is the opposite element.

r is the free radius of the ring.

T is the depth of the groove of the shaft and sisin 4:

sin 5 2 (lsin (1.075- 40 2 is neglected for it is very small }=(1.156+ 0.054 sin :t-l- 1.156 sin 4 0.054 sin 1.156-i-0.054 sin 45+ 1.156 sin 0.054,sin 4:)

0.108, sin +2.312 sin =2.42 sin c s tte The resultant Ca of the centrifugal force exerted by the legs 3 and 4 thereof can also be calculated in like manner and, as the resultants C and CE are opposite, the resultant of the centrifugal' forces exerted on the rotating ring as shown in Fig. 1 equals C-Cn.

The ring portion proper of the retaining ring according to the invention, as shown in Fig. 2, has the same shape as the ring portion of the retaining ring illustrated in Fig. 1, its outer edge I being struck on radius R and its inner edge 2 being struck from a center ll of the ring on a radius 1, said centers being eccentric in the direction of the vertical center line by the distance T. In the ring according to the invention, however, the same is so shaped that the resultant of the centrifugal forces acting on the ring in the direction of its vertical center-line are equal and opposite, whereby'the ring is self-balanced in rotation, while at the same time the calculated diminution of the section height of the ring from maximum to minimum is preserved, whereby the ring maintains circularity under deformation. These advantageous results are accomplished in a ring having uniform axial thickness throughout by so determining the dimensions and hence the area of the legs 30, 50 thereof that the resultant Vs of the centrifugal forces acting in a vertical direction on the legs has the same magnitude as the resultant C of the centrifugal forces acting in the vertical direction on the ring portion only of the complete ring. Thus in the ring according to the invention, C equals Vn.

To calculate the area of the legs 30, 40 according to the invention, the same section height thereof as in the ring of Fig. 1 is preferably maintained, whereby the permissible clearance diameter of the ring is not exceeded, but the angular width of the legs is enlarged. This angular width is measured by the angle a between side edges of a leg and accordingly the resultant VE of the centrifugal forces exerted on so-formed legs is determined from the equation wherein 02 is a coefllcient depending upon the chosen relation between eccentricity T and section height h of a leg to the free radius r of the ring. This formula is derived from the equation 2 v 2V =2h(r+T+%) sin c wherein Now, T and h can be expressed according to the constant relation to T. For example,

- 1' h 2 1 h=5T= then h(r+T+- 1' 1' r 9 '4(T+0+) =C' r Since. under the condition of self-balancing as 61 rw V 637 60 sin Cl and As the legs 40 are each provided with an aperture 45 for plier points adapted to expand the rin in the application thereof to a shaft groove, consideration must be given also to the area of these holes by which the resultant of the centrifugal forces on the legs is decreased. This is satisfied by adding to the angle a an angle ,6, and extending the width of the legs an angular amount corresponding to the latter whereby the increment to each leg corresponds to the area of the hole 45 thereof. The value of B is calculated as follows:

Assuming that the centrifugal force of the hole area acts on the center of the hole, radial distance of which is then the centrifugal force exerted on this hole area 2 T will be ZZ -(w T+%)w The area of the hole is replaced by a material strip of an area at th outer edge of the lug. The centrifugal force acting on this strip is From this follows the equation:

I. For h=T= and d=.062" and r=.462"

II. For h=4r= and d=.078" and r=.693"

III. For h=3T= 6 and d=.110 and r=1.387"

Note is made that p is given in radians and ,9" is given in degrees.

Thus, the overall width of each leg is such that the resultant of the centrifugal forces exerted thereon balance out the resultant of the centrifugal forces exerted on the ring proper.

According to the invention as defined, therefore, a self-balanced retaining ring is attained, without affecting the calculated taper or diminution of the height thereof which cannot be changed lest the ring lose its capacity of circularity under deformation. Accordingly, a retaining ring as described may be applied as heretofore to shafts rotating at high speeds without disturbing the balance thereof.

\A self-balanced retaining ring comprising an.

open-ended spring ring, the section height of which progressively diminishes towards its open ends, the open ends being formed as radially outwardly protruding legs each having a tool aperture therein, the ring body proper and the legs having uniform axial thickness throughout, the legs having radial depth which is no greater than the maximum section height of the ring body proper, whereby the legs conform to the permissible clearance diameter of the ring, and having angular width of dimension such that in rotation of the ring the resultant of the centrifugal force proportional to leg area which is exerted on the legs equals the resultant of the centrifugal force exerted on the ring body proper, whereby the ring is balanced about its axis of rotation.

LOUIS W. SCHAAFF. HEINRICH HEIMANN; HUGO WURZEL;

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 18,144 Heiermann Aug. 4, 1931 1,666,352 Rouanet Apr. 17, 1928 

